Villanova made a promise on Day No. 1 of the Big East women’s tournament. Watch how it all unfolded

As perhaps its greatest-ever player, Maddy Siegrist noted that when it comes to Villanova’s basketball program, one that has been overtaken in the headlines in recent years by its men’s team, there’s perhaps never been a greater time to celebrate the women.

“Not only are we a men’s basketball school, but we are also a women’s basketball school as well,” Siegrist said just ahead of the tournament season, the proverbial second half of a season where each game is essentially its own mini-championship.

She’s right. This year, while the men transitioned under the guidance of a new coach Kyle Neptune after 21 seasons of Jay Wright basketball, the women flourished under third-year head coach Denise Dillon, who has led the Wildcats to a No. 10 Top 25 ranking, their highest-ever in school history.

Now they push forward as the No. 4 seed with two games at home to start in this year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament, as for the second time in as many years, the Wildcats found itself a spot among the field of 64.

» READ MORE: God and basketball teamed up to create Maddy Siegrist's historic career at Villanova

To get there, first, it had to undergo a grueling three-day stretch of games as the No. 2 seed in the Big East women’s tournament with games against DePaul, Creighton, and a championship dance with top-seeded Connecticut.

In the third of an Inquirer video series looking at the season its been for the Villanova women’s basketball program, documentarian Margo Reed offers this behind-the-scenes look at the Wildcats’ run to the Big East Conference championship and the promise it made to itself on Day No. 1 of the tournament.

» READ MORE: Joe Mullaney, part of the history of Villanova basketball, and Maddy’s Siegrist’s path